Surprise!
by Xtremeroswellian
Summary: Faith gets an unexpected surprise from her husband after a rough shift. Fourth fic in the 'There For You' series.


Title: Surprise

Author: X_tremeroswellian

Email: X_tremeroswellian@yahoo.com

Disclaimer: Dog gone it, they're still not mine. Sigh. There's no justice in the world.

Rating: PG-13 for adult language and sexual content

Spoilers: Up through and including "Act Brave." 

Summary: Faith gets an unexpected surprise from her husband after a rough shift. 

Distribution: If you want it, just email me and let me know where it's going. Otherwise its permenant home is on my site, Only Time. www.geocities.com/angel_roswell/onlytime.html . 

Category: Story

Subcategories: Angst/drama

Feedback: I love it and thrive on it. 

Author's Note: This is the fourth fic in my TW series, There For You. The first one is "Crossing Boundaries," the second is "Partners," and the third is "Changing of the Tides." Might want to read those three first. 

* * *

Surprise

"This is 55-Charlie! We have an officer down! I repeat, we have an officer down!" Sully shouted over his radio as he ducked the miriad of bullets flying toward him.

"She okay?" Davis shouted from somewhere across the room.

"I don't know!" he shouted back. He leaned over. "Faith? Faith, can you hear me?" 

She moaned and turned her head to the side, but her eyes remained shut.

Sully grimaced at the rapidly forming bruise on her head. He quickly reached out and unfastened the buttons on her shirt, then pulled at the velcro on her vest. "Thank God," he muttered when he didn't see any blood. "The bullet didn't go through her vest," he told Gusler, who was pale and shaken.

He nodded quickly, cringing at the hail of gunfire that bombarded the restaurant.

"We need to get out of here!" Davis shouted. 

Sully radioed Central again. "Where the hell is our back up, Central?" 

"Back up is on the way, 55-Charlie. ETA two minutes," the dispatcher said.

"We'll be lucky to survive two more minutes," he muttered grimly.

Faith groaned again, her hand coming up to rest on her right rib cage. 

Sully pushed some hair out of her face. "You're gonna be okay, Faith. Bus is on the way," he told her, his voice calm and soothing. 

"Sully, is she all right?" Davis called. 

"Yeah, I think so!" he shouted back, grimacing when a bullet whizzed over his head and shattered the chandelier that hung above them. He quickly threw himself over Faith to shelter her from further injury and covered his head with his arms as glass rained down on them.

And then suddenly everything was silent. 

Sully glanced around the nearly empty room and saw two of the gang members lying dead on the floor, blood pooling around them. He didn't dare move, fearing the rival gang members may still have been outside the building. He looked down at his friend's pale face and hoped their back-up got there soon.

* * *

"All right. Matthews, Pritchard, Nichols, and Smith, clear the area. Boscorelli, Michael, Link, Waterson and Adams, you guys secure the building," Hobart commanded. 

"Yes, Sir," Bosco agreed, feeling the adrenaline pumping through his veins.

The second they were given the go ahead, Bosco was the first one out the back of the ESU van, his gun gripped firmly in his hands. 

"Clear!" Nichols called out, waving the rest of them toward the restaurant. 

He hurried toward the building, kicking open what was left of the door. Whoever had opened fire had done a hell of a job. "Police, nobody move!" he warned loudly, glancing around.

"We need EMS over here!" a familiar voice called out.

That's Sully, he realized as the other ESU guys rushed in. Did Davis get shot? he wondered. He radioed for an ETA on the ambulance and headed over. They'd been trained for emergency medical assistance the first week at STS. 

As he hurried across the room, Bosco noticed the bullet holes all around him. How the hell did anyone survive this? he thought. He finally reached the table that was turned over on its side that Sully was crouched behind. He was leaning over the fallen officer, Steve Gusler beside him.

"Is Davis--" He started to ask, his gaze dropping to the floor, but before he could finish his sentence, Sully shifted and Bosco's eyes widened. "Oh, God. Faith!" He immediately knelt down next to her, pressing his fingers to her throat, thanking God when he found a pulse. "What the hell happened?" 

Sully grimaced. "We chose the wrong place to eat dinner. A couple guys came in and suddenly we were caught in the middle of a gang shootout. Faith threw herself in front of Gusler." 

"She saved my life," Gusler said, shaking.

"A bullet hit her vest. She hit her head when she fell, but I think she'll be okay." 

Davis appeared behind them. "She all right?" 

"Still unconcious, but her pulse is strong and steady," Bosco answered, not even looking up at him as he checked for himself to make sure that the bullet hadn't gone through the kevlar vest. He touched her face gently. "Faith, can you hear me?" 

Her eyebrows furrowed at the sound of his voice but she didn't open her eyes. "Bosco..." she mumbled. 

"Yeah, I'm here, Faith. I need you to stay still until EMS gets here, okay?" 

"Boscorelli?" 

He turned to see Hobart standing a few feet away. 

"A bus just pulled up." 

Bosco nodded and focused his attention on Faith again. "You hear that? EMS is here," he told her, squeezing her hand. 

"What've we got?" Doc asked as he hurried in with Kim right behind him.

"Faith got shot, but the bullet didn't penetrate her vest. Head wound to the right temporal lobe, possible concussion, LOC approximately five minutes," Bosco said, moving out of the way to let them take over. 

Sully and Davis exchanged looks, but he didn't notice. 

Doc and Kim worked quickly and moved her onto a stretcher. Kim glanced over at Sully as Alex and Carlos came through the door. "You should go with Taylor and Nieto to the hospital to take care of those cuts." 

"Yeah, I will," Sully agreed as Alex and Carlos headed over to check the gang members. 

"Bosco, you coming?" Doc asked him.

"Yeah," he answered, following them toward the door without a second thought. 

"Boscorelli," Hobart called. 

He turned, saw the frown on his superior's face. "I'll file my report as soon as I make sure Yokas is okay." 

Hobart looked at him with disapproval but agreed. 

Bosco quickly followed the paramedics and climbed onto the back of the bus with his former partner. 

* * *

"She okay?" Bosco asked Doc worriedly as the other man checked her vitals again.

"She probably has a concussion and possibly a cracked rib," Doc told him, nodding toward Faith's ribcage. 

He looked at the dark bruises that had already crept up on her skin and he winced. He reached out and gently brushed the hair off her forehead. "Faith?" 

Her eyelids fluttered open. Her blue eyes were cloudy with confusion. "Boz?" 

Bosco nodded and smiled at her. "Yeah, I'm right here, Faith." 

"How are you feeling?" Doc asked, concerned.

"Not so great." 

"You probably have a concussion. Maybe a broken rib or two," Doc explained. "Do you know what day it is?" 

She squinted at him. "Friday?" 

Doc smiled. "Yeah, it's Friday. We're taking you to Mercy, okay?" 

Faith nodded, her hand resting on her ribcage as she winced in pain. "Gusler?" she asked suddenly, looking alarmed. She struggled to sit up. 

"Easy, Faith," Bosco said quickly, putting his hand on her arm to stop her from sitting up. "He's fine." 

"What about Sully? And Davis?" 

"They're both fine, too," he assured her. He squeezed her hand gently. "You got lucky." 

"Yeah," she agreed. "Bosco, what are you doing here?" 

"ESU got called in for back-up. Hobart decided to take me and some of the guys from STS along for field experience," he explained to her. 

The bus pulled to a stop. 

"I'll be right there," Bosco said, squeezing her hand once more as he moved to let Doc and Kim transport her to the e.r.

* * *

"What's the word?" Bosco asked anxiously as he was finally allowed in to see Faith. 

She looked up from where she was still sitting on the exam table. "Cracked rib, slight concussion." 

"They keeping you overnight?" 

"No. They wanted to, but..." She shook her head. "I hate hospitals." 

"You and me both. Should I call Fred and tell him what happened?" 

"No, but thanks. I'm gonna head home." 

"Good idea," Bosco agreed. "You need a ride?" 

She looked past him, then shook her head. "I think you're being summoned," she said, nodding toward the door. 

He turned to see Hobart standing outside, pointing to his watch impatiently. He sighed, looking back at Faith apologetically. "I gotta go." 

Faith nodded. "Thanks for staying." 

"Sure, no problem." He hesitated. "I'm really glad you're okay. You, uh...you scared me. I walked in and you were unconscious and for a minute I thought--" Bosco cut himself off. 

"Sorry," she said softly.

He nodded. "Maybe we can get together and do something this weekend?" 

"That'd be good," Faith agreed. 

"Okay. I'll call you." 

"See you, Bosco." 

He smiled at her, then turned and left the room. 

"Boscorelli, you and I are gonna have to have a talk about department policy," Hobart said sternly as they walked down the hospital corridor. 

Here we go, Bosco thought with a sigh.

* * *

Faith unlocked the door to her and Fred's apartment and stepped inside, glancing around the darkened room. She quietly shut the door behind her, wincing as her ribs ached. She carefully pressed one hand to the spot and flipped the lamp on with her free hand. 

She smiled as she saw the boquet of red roses lying on the table behind the couch, and a bottle of sparkling cider next to it with two glasses. She suddenly recalled that the kids were at Fred's parent's house for the weekend and her smile widened slightly. 

She set her bag and purse down on the floor by the door and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was only 9:15. He'd obviously intended to surprise her with a romantic evening. She'd just surprise him by being there early. She headed down the hallway quietly, pausing outside her and Fred's bedroom door when she heard soft noises from inside. 

Watching tv, she thought with a smile as she turned the door handle and opened the door. 

She froze. 

The room was lit by candlelight and a bowl of strawberries was set on the nightstand by the bed. The bed which was currently occupied by Fred, who was having sex with some blond woman, both unaware of her presence. 

"Oh, Fred," the woman moaned. 

He leaned down and kissed her passionately. 

Faith's eyes filled with tears and she quickly backed out of the room without uttering a sound. She covered her mouth with one hand. 

"Faith?" she heard him say, shock evident in his voice.

She turned and hurried back down the hallway, stopping when she reached the living room. Her heart thudded in her chest as a wave of nausea washed over her. She couldn't hardly breathe as she stood rooted to the floor, her mind racing. He's cheating on me.

"Faith, I didn't mean for you to find out this way." 

She turned to see him standing there, a sheet wrapped around his waist. "How could you do this to me?" 

"I didn't know you were gonna be home early." 

Faith stared at him, a tear dripping down her cheek. "Is that supposed to make me feel better? That you didn't mean to get caught?" 

He shook his head. "No, that's not what...that's not what I meant." 

"Why, Fred?" she asked, another tear falling. She quickly reached up to wipe it away. "Why?" 

Fred looked away. "You're never here, Faith. Everything and everyone comes before me and has for a long time. I do all the work around here. I have a job of my own, but I do the housework, the cleaning, the dishes, the laundry, and I take care of the kids. I have needs, too, you know."

She brushed another tear away. "Is she the reason you haven't touched me in weeks?" she demanded bitterly.

"I don't find you attractive anymore, Faith," he said bluntly.

She stared at the floor. "How long?" 

He sighed. "Faith..." 

"How long?" she repeated, her voice taking on a high-pitched tone.

"Eight months." He looked at her. "I was going to tell you a long time ago, back in the beginning, but then you told me they'd found a tumor and I couldn't bring myself to do it." 

"Get out."

Fred stared at her. "Faith--" 

"Get out. Get your girlfriend and your flowers and get the hell out of my house before I call the police," Faith said, not looking at him.

Wordlessly, he turned and headed to the bedroom.

She stood in the living room for what seemed like an eternity, feeling totally numb. He returned awhile later, the blond woman with him. 

Faith couldn't bring herself to look at either of them.

"I'm sorry," Fred said quietly.

"Just get out," she replied, feeling sick to her stomach.

The second the door closed behind them, she grabbed the bottle of cider off the table and hurled it at the door. It shattered to pieces as she sank down to the floor and began to cry.

* * *

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